臼碆
迫力のある赤茶色の崖で有名な臼碆は、足摺半島の西側突端にあり、日本の太平洋岸を北上する暖かい黒潮が四国に初めに達するところです。潮流の凄まじい力は、崖のすぐ下にある岩場の周りで形成される渦潮にはっきり表れています。崖の上から渦潮を眺めることができます。
臼碆は、自然の美しさの他にも、地元の歴史で果たした役割で有名です。地元の人々がカツオ節を作るためのカツオを初めて捕ることができたのは、この崖のそばの海でした。臼碆の崖の1つにあり、海を見下ろす竜宮神社で漁師の妻たちは伝統的に宴を開き、夫たちの安全と大漁を祈ったものでした。
Usubae
Famous for its imposing red-brown cliffs, Usubae is located at the western tip of the Ashizuri Peninsula and is the place where the warm Kuroshio (Japan Current) first hits Shikoku on its way north along Japan’s Pacific coast. The great intensity of the current is evident in the whirlpools that form around the rocky reefs just beneath the cliffs. These whirlpools can be admired from above.
Besides its natural beauty, Usubae is remembered for its role in local history. It was in the sea just off these cliffs that the local people first managed to catch skipjack tuna (katsuo), from which katsuobushi fillets are made. The wives of the fishermen would traditionally hold feasts at Ryugu Shrine, which sits high above the ocean on one of the Usubae cliffs, to pray for their husbands’ safety and a plentiful catch.
